Matsumaru finally wins Tagaman

No more bridesmaid finish for Japanese road racer Masauki Matsumaru this time.

After a runner-up finish in 2007 and 2008, Matsumaru won the 20th Tagaman Triathlon, stunning XTERRA Saipan winner Sam Gardner and dethroned Tagaman champion Andrew Noble in Saturday’s race.

The Japanese pro completed the 1.5-kilometer swim leg, 60-km road bike race, and 15-km run part in two hours, 59 minutes, 41 seconds to earn his first Tagaman win after four years of participating in Micronesia’s longest-running triathlon.

Matsumaru’s victory last weekend also broke Japan’s 10-year title drought in the Tagaman. The last time a Japanese bet won in Tagaman was in 1998 with Hideya Miyazuka beating compatriot Yuji Fujiwara and New Zealand’s Stephen Farrell.

“It was great to finally win Tagaman. I had a good race today,” said Matsumaru, who finished the race more than two minutes ahead of Gardner of the United Kingdom.

The Japanese triathlete was about four minutes ahead of Gardner in the swim leg with Matsumaru posting 26:51 against the latter’s 30:47. Gardner had a better time in the bike portion with his 1:30:07. Matsumaru tallied 1:32:14 in the bike leg, but came to the bike-run transition area more than a minute ahead of Gardner.

The newly crowned Tagaman Triathlon champion had already started the run leg at the back of Hyatt Regency Saipan at Micro Beach when Gardner reached the transition area. The two triathletes had identical times in the run leg (58:56), preserving Matsumaru’s victory.

Gardner believed fatigue finally caught up with him after the long race.

“I’ve been here for more than three weeks, biking and running from south to north. I really got tired, my legs were cramping. I just continued running and paced myself, as I don’t want to get into trouble heading home,” said Gardner, who submitted a total time of 3:02:03.

Noble was about more than a minute behind Matsumaru and Gardner in the run portion and settled for third overall. The Aussie bet was the first pro out of the Micro Beach waters, timing in at 26:49 and third in the bike (1:36:95) for a total time of 3:04:53.

Noble’s 2009 time was about 10 minutes slower than his 2008 clocking of (2:54:25) when he beat Matsumaru, who curiously had a faster time last year (2:56:57).

Renata Bucher’s 2008 time (3:25:34) was also better than her 2009 time (3:28:18). But she still topped the women’s division, easily beating Saipan bet and crowd favorite Mieko Carey (3:32:58).

Carey may have won only second place in the women’s division, but she is ranked No. 1 for the effort she exerted in the race. Carey competed in Tagaman with broken ribs, which she sustained during a bike crash in last week’s XTERRA Saipan.

“When you are out there, doing the race, you tend to forget the pain. You just keep pushing yourself until you reach the finish line,” Carey said.

Just like what happened in XTERRA Saipan, Bucher crossed the Tagaman finish line at Micro Beach uncontested.

“Although I did not beat my time in 2008, I had a smooth race this year. I just paced myself and enjoyed cruising the beautiful island of Saipan, again,” said Bucher, who won her second title in four Tagaman appearances.

Bucher was runner-up to Julie Dibens in 2007 and to Jamie Whitmore in 2005. Dibens could not make it to this year’s Tagaman, as she had to leave after XTERRA Saipan to prepare for a race in Florida, while Whitmore is still recovering from an illness.

In place of Dibens and Whitmore were one female triathlete each from the U.K. and Japan, and Pacific Islands Club’s Kimiko Hasegawa.

Japan’s Noriko Takano finished third (3:39:50), followed by U.K.’s Susan Blackett (3:42:55), and Hasegawa (4:20:36).